Analytical study of electrical disconnect system for use on manned and unmanned missions

The objective of this contract is to establish an optimum electrical disconnect system design(s) for use on manned and unmanned missions. The purpose of the disconnect system is to electrically mate and demate the spacecraft to subsystem module interfaces to accomplish orbital operations. The results of Task 1 and Task 2 of the effort are presented. Task 1 involves the definition of the functional, operational, and environmental requirements for the connector system to support the leading prototype candidate concepts. Task 2 involves the documentation review and survey of available existing connector designs

PRECISE 3D MEASUREMENT WITH STANDARD MEANS AND MINIMIAL USER INTERACTION - EXTENDED SINGLE-VIEW RECONSTRUCTION

The paper proposes a new method for general 3D measurement and 3D point reconstruction. Looking at its features, the method explicitly aims at practical applications. These features especially cover low technical expenses and minimal user interaction, a clear problem separation into steps that are solved by simple mathematical methods (direct, stable and optimal with respect to least error squares), and scalability. The method expects the internal and radial distortion parameters of the used camera(s) as inputs, and a plane quadrangle with known geometry within the scene. At first, for each single picture the 3D position of the reference quadrangle (with respect to each camera coordinate frame) is calculated. These 3D reconstructions of the reference quadrangle are then used to yield the relative external parameters of each camera regarding the first one. With known external parameters, triangulation is finally possible. The differences from other known procedures are outlined, paying attention to the stable mathematical methods (no usage of nonlinear optimization) and the low user interaction with good results at the same time

Stability of optical elements in the NIF target area building

The Target Area Building (TAB) of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is 300 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 100 feet tall and is comprised of a cylindrical target building and two switchyard space frames. The reinforced concrete target building houses the target chamber, target positioner, turning mirrors, final optics assemblies, and diagnostics, while the steel switchyard space frames support turning mirrors and diagnostic equipment. Within the TAB, the 192 independent laser beams of the NIF laser system are required to be accurately positioned. In order to satisfy the engineering system requirement for optical system positioning (stability on target), the TAB must provide a stable platform for optical elements before and during a shot. This paper summarizes the stability analyses that were performed in support of the TAB and optical system design. Sources that influence optic stability are structural excitations, such as ambient and wind induced vibrations, and thermal transients, such as diurnal and HVAC temperature changes. A positioning error budget has been developed for the NIF project for use in the design and evaluation of structures which support optical elements. To satisfy the error budget requirements, vibrational stability will be achieved through a combination of facility design, optic support structure design, and passive damping. Thermal stability will be accomplished by using high thermal-mass concrete structures, conditioned air flow, and a reduction of heat sources. Finite element analysis has been used to evaluate the design of the TAB and optical support structures. A detailed structural model of the TAB that includes the target positioner, target chamber, turning mirrors, and diagnostics, has been used for stability evaluations. Finite element analyses covering ambient ground vibration, thermal loads, pressure fluctuations, and wind excitations have demonstrated that the current design of the TAB provides a stable platform for maintaining beam alignment

Improved modelling of trains braking under low adhesion conditions

Predicting the behaviour of trains when braking under low adhesion conditions presents considerable challenges. This paper describes an approach to the problem using a model of the full train braking system known as LABRADOR (Low Adhesion Braking Dynamic Optimization for Rolling Stock) and an improved method for representing the creep force–creepage behaviour when low adhesion is presently known as WILAC (Water Induced Low Adhesion Creep Force Model). The development of these models and their integration are summarized and a number of test cases are presented to demonstrate the improvements which can be gained from this approach. A number of suggestions are made for future enhancements with the aim of providing brake engineers and systems integrators with reliable simulation tools for optimizing train braking performance when low adhesion is present

Nan-O-Style – experiments and arts

In this project, high school students (aged 16-17) tested various protocols of experiments in nanotechnology and evaluated them whether such experiments could also be performed by middle school students (aged 11-15) or even elementary school students (aged 6-10). Protocols pre-selected and provided by the instructing team consisting of Sciencetainment and the Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg were applied. Laboratory techniques such as thin-layer chromatography, measuring the contact angle by high-resolution 3D microscopy and analyzing and constructing surface layers represented some of the experiments performed. Moreover, students produced short video clips and images and designed photo-collages out of microscopic and electron microscopic pictures. Hence, the school students acquired a number of soft skills during this special science day

CASKS (Computer Analysis of Storage casKS): A microcomputer based analysis system for storage cask design review. User`s manual to Version 1b (including program reference)

CASKS (Computer Analysis of Storage casKS) is a microcomputer-based system of computer programs and databases developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for evaluating safety analysis reports on spent-fuel storage casks. The bulk of the complete program and this user`s manual are based upon the SCANS (Shipping Cask ANalysis System) program previously developed at LLNL. A number of enhancements and improvements were added to the original SCANS program to meet requirements unique to storage casks. CASKS is an easy-to-use system that calculates global response of storage casks to impact loads, pressure loads and thermal conditions. This provides reviewers with a tool for an independent check on analyses submitted by licensees. CASKS is based on microcomputers compatible with the IBM-PC family of computers. The system is composed of a series of menus, input programs, cask analysis programs, and output display programs. All data is entered through fill-in-the-blank input screens that contain descriptive data requests

10-kJ Status and 100-kJ Future for NIF PetaWatt Technology

We discuss the status of the NIF ARC, an 8-beam 10-kJ class high-energy petawatt laser, and the future upgrade path of this and similar systems to 100-kJ-class with coherent phasing of multiple apertures

Mental health care for irregular migrants in Europe: Barriers and how they are overcome

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Virgo calibration and reconstruction of the gravitational wave strain during VSR1

Virgo is a kilometer-length interferometer for gravitational waves detection located near Pisa. Its first science run, VSR1, occured from May to October 2007. The aims of the calibration are to measure the detector sensitivity and to reconstruct the time series of the gravitational wave strain h(t). The absolute length calibration is based on an original non-linear reconstruction of the differential arm length variations in free swinging Michelson configurations. It uses the laser wavelength as length standard. This method is used to calibrate the frequency dependent response of the Virgo mirror actuators and derive the detector in-loop response and sensitivity within ~5%. The principle of the strain reconstruction is highlighted and the h(t) systematic errors are estimated. A photon calibrator is used to check the sign of h(t). The reconstructed h(t) during VSR1 is valid from 10 Hz up to 10 kHz with systematic errors estimated to 6% in amplitude. The phase error is estimated to be 70 mrad below 1.9 kHz and 6 micro-seconds above.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, proceedings of Amaldi 8 conference, to be published in Journal of Physics Conference Series (JPCS). Second release: correct typo